As part of trying to spread a lighter weight style of hiking here in Australia I have made an arrangement with a US based cottage manufacturer to sell his light weight stoves here. End2End Trail Supply’s owner George Carr has been perfecting light weight alcohol stoves for many years and am very pleased to be working with him, these stoves are great. The Gram Weenie Pro which can be see from the link here; weighs an amazing 19 grams. For those curious on how these work George has a youtube video; How to light GWP YouTube To keep things simple and cheap, I am selling the Gram Weenie Pro Stove, windshield, primer pan and Fuel bottle for $20.00 plus the cost of shipping anywhere in Australia.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Well it has been a while since my last post and any engagement in my normal activities.

Early in the year I was diagnosed with severe depression brought on by a few personal issues which I am happy to report are on the mend and I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel as they say.

I have also been under the knife again for another, hopefully final, round of spinal surgery to correct some disk and nerve damage due to a MVA back in 2009.

As I mentioned things are starting to look up, and with the great help and support of family and friends I am to return to maintaining this blog and pick up my hiking time.

If depression affects you there are lots of great resources out there, one I found particularly useful was Beyond Blue. Sometimes just a few words to someone who seems to be struggling is all it takes.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Hi All,
Well it's confirmed, I am a new Joey Scout Leader at Ellenbrook Scouts. Very excited to be back in the movement after about 20 years off.
My Son will join the mob about half way through the year which will be great too!
If there are any other Scout involved people out there I would love to hear from you particularly about your schedule for the year and what you find works well and not so well.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Albany Wind Farm Expansion - Hidden Valley Campsite to be relocated
Work has begun on the Grasmere wind farm - part of the expansion of the Albany Wind Farm. The six-turbine Grasmere wind farm will be installed at the western end of the highly successful Albany wind farm. Though they have different names, the wind farms will merge.
To safely carry out the works associated with constructing the wind farm extension, 4WD tracks have been temporarily closed and a section of the Bibbulmun Track diverted to an existing 4WD track running parallel to the coast. To ensure the safety of bushwalkers, no vehicles will be permitted to use this track during the closure. This diversion is NOT a pleasant experience for walkers! Our advice is to avoid this area if possible until the realignment has taken place!
Extensive consultation has taken place between Verve Energy, DEC and the Foundation to assess the impact of the extension on walkers and to devise a solution to minimise the visual and auditory effects. As a result, Hidden Valley campsite will be relocated further west to take it right out of the wind farm. Additionally, a new campsite will be built between the wind farm and Albany in the Tonndirrup National Park. This will result in three shorter days of approximately 13km each out of Albany, as opposed to the existing 19.5km to Hidden Valley and 17km to Torbay campsite. This is an excellent outcome for walkers and will be implemented in line with the completion of the wind farm in early 2012.
The 14MW Grasmere Wind Farm will produce around 44GWh of electricity each year and, together with Albany Wind Farm, will meet 80% of Albany’s electricity needs with clean, inexhaustible renewable energy. Grasmere will reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions by 43,500 tonnes per year from electricity production, equivalent to taking 10,000 cars off the road.
The new turbines will be placed on the coast using the same pattern and spacing as the existing wind farm and will be built to the same high environmental and social standards. The new wind farm will need a new underground power line connection for the entire 14km back to the Albany sub-station, so no overhead wires will be required.
For more information visit www.verveenergy.com.au

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

You may recall that back in early 2009 Shapcott Hut on the coastal plains trail was destroyed by fire. Since then I have sent regular emails to the national park and DEC to establish when it would be rebuild.

Notification today came that they are going to be building a rammed earth replacement and expect that to be completed within 6 months.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

I went out on my first trial survival hike this weekend past. My aim was to see if I could use the resources around me to build shelter, make fire and feed myself. I was not intending to stay out over night this time (not that confident yet) and I did have my pack with food and water.
This was a good test and I did have some success which I am happy with. Firstly I found two huge orange trees growing in an area of the state forest where there used to be a wine cellar (date unknown). They tasted horrible as were still a few weeks away from being ripe however they did provide some good liquid and are certainly edible if needed.
I then went on the gather the items needed for a fire bow saw, although I didn't get a chance to test it I will over the next week or so, there was too much rain for me to have a real first attempt at this.
Last but not least I made myself a shelter, this one would definitely not protect me from the weather but again I was happy with it for a first attempt.
Let me know what you all think.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Hi, more stove kits and now with the imusa mugs are on the way from the US. They should arrive in the next week or so. This is the first time the imusa mugs will be available. Still working on a price for the mugs but like the stove kits they will nice and affordable. Check out previous post for more info